Register a sectional plan to get titles for flats, or convert an old long lease
State Department for Lands and Physical Planning · sources read 4 Oct 2026
A surveyor prepares the sectional plan, the county endorses it and Survey authenticates it; then the owner applies to the Land Registrar on Form LRA 9 with the original title and Form SP 7. The Registrar issues a certificate of title or lease for each unit.
- Fee
- We couldn't confirm a fee from the official page. Check it there before you pay.
- Where
- The land registry for the area where the building stands (Land Registrar); the plan is authenticated by the survey authority and endorsed by the county
What you need
- Application for registration on Form LRA 9
- Original certificate of title or lease for the whole parcel, and Form SP 7 to register the management corporation
- The sectional plan, with the rent apportionment form (Form SP 1) where land rent applies
- For a conversion: Form SP 16, the sectional plan, the sub-lease or long lease, the certificate of lease, and the parcel title or a copy
Steps
- Have a licensed surveyor prepare the sectional plan and submit it to the survey authority for authentication.
- Apply to the county on Form SP 3 so the county officer in charge of building approvals endorses the plan.
- Apply to the Land Registrar on Form LRA 9 with the original title and Form SP 7.
- The Registrar registers the plan, closes the old parcel register and issues a certificate of title (freehold) or certificate of lease (leasehold) for each unit.
- For flats sold on old long leases, the management company (or the developer, if not all units are sold) applies to the Registrar on Form SP 16 to convert them.
Watch out
- Developer won't hand over the parcel title for a conversion? Owners can give an indemnity; the Registrar calls for the title in the Gazette and, after 60 days, goes ahead without it.
- Not every long lease must convert: it doesn't apply where the agreement says the developer keeps the reversion, or to big mixed-use or phased developments that keep it.
- After conversion, the old management company must hand all its assets and liabilities to the new corporation within one year.
Who can apply
- New sectional plans: the owner of the property (usually the developer), who signs the plan with the surveyor
- Converting old long leases: the management company or the developer, and the flat owners themselves if those fail to apply
Official sources (2)
- Sectional Properties Regulations, 2021 (Legal Notice 236 of 2021) lands.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026
- Forms (CLA, LRA and Sectional Properties forms) lands.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026